Apparatus for defibrating cottonseed hulls



Dec. 27, 1927.

T. J. KIDD APPARATUS FOR DEFIBRATING COTTON SEED BULLS.

Filed April 11, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 1- mmnroz dd Thomas JKi Dec. 27, 1927, 1,654,263

T. J. KIDD APPARATUS FOR DEFIBEJTING COTTON SEED HULLS Filed April 11, 192'? 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Thomas Jifidd Gnome patented Dec. 27, 1927.

l l' D h T A T E S THOMAS J. IKTDD, 0F BIRMINGHAM, .ALAllAMA.

APPARATUS FOR DEFIBRATING tIOTTtlJNfiEED Tfl'lllliLS.

Application llle'd April 11, 19%.

My invention relates to an apparatus for pl; defibrating of cotton. seed hulls and the My present invention is designed to embody the principles of construction and in general to function in accordance with the methods of operation which form the subject matter of Letters Patent 1,639,568, issued to me on Aug. 16th, 1927, wherein is shown and described a process and apparatus tor the rapid, eflicient and economical defibration oil cotton seed hulls by the provision of a treatment chamber into which the hulls to be treated are introduced and in which they are subjected to the action of thin last spinning rotor blades and caused to whirl and pass successively over a coarse screen to permit the escape of the hull particles and a fine screen intended to permit the escape of the fiber, with means tor inducing a draft to flow through I the whirl and .to entrain and carry out with it the libel, as stripped from the hull bran, through the fiber. screen. The theory of operation out this machine is that the operates under the influence ot' a vigorous.

dratt which will penetrate the mass or hulls under treatment and will rapidly entrain therewith and carry out with it through the fiber screen the fiber-as it is detached.

l have observed that the output will be increased it the mass is permitted in each cycle to expand and contract, thereby providing tor a better stratification, as it were, ol the materials 0t different specific gravity in the mass and thus permitting the more ready escape of the stripped or cleaned hull bran particles in one part of the cycle and ot the fiber, detached and freed from the mass ct hulls under treatment, in another part of the cycle.

in my present invention l have exhibited various embodiments of apparatus representing in several respects departure trom the apparatus illustrated in my first mentioned application, and these various embodiments are selected and illustrated for the purposes of making clearer the various serial No. learns.

methods and means by which my delibrating process may be practiced so as to be most ellective under difi'erent operating conditrons:

l have illustrated ei'nbodiments in which the hull feed is modified and located at various positions about the working chamber and in which the hull screen is arranged at dillerent relative distances troin the rotor. 111 all embodiments the hull and fiber screens are separate and in all constructions a p0sitive draft is induced and caused to flow throughthe machine and out through the fiberfscreen and to carry out with it the fiber while the cleaned hull bran, subject to various forces, makes its escape from phte working chamber through the hull out- In the embodiment ct my invention illustrated:-

Fig. 1 shows a vertical transverse crosssectional view through a defibrating machine with the arrows indicating the discharge of the several products therefrom and the direction of rotation ot' the rotor.

Fig; 2 is a view showing thedefibrating mechanism partly in trout elevation, with the trontwall oil the lower halt ol. the easing removed and with the hull bran battle broken away, and partlyin vertical longitudinal central section, the hull bran chute and inlet opening theretroin into the casing being omitted tor the sake of clearncss.

Fig. 3 is view corresponding to Fig. l, with a more restricted working chamber between tlie hull inlet and the hull bran screen. liig. 41s a detail perspective view ot' one till ot' the rotor blades.

12 and carried up over the lip 13 through the inlet openin it into the treatment chant her, which opening is formed in a top cover 15 extending troni the lower hall 16 of the caslng upwardly in a concave curve over the treatment chamber to a casting 17, suitably mounted in the side walls 18 of the machine.

A lower casting 19 is mounted on the section 16 at one side and is extended inwardly to the treatment chamber and there has an upturned portion 20 to which is attached the lower end of the hull bran screen 21, which extends the full width between the side walls of the machine. 'The screen 21 has its free upper end at each side connected by a link 22 to its respective crank arm 23 fast on a cross shaft 24 operable from one side of the machine. This permits the hull bran screen to be shifted inwardly towards the working chamber or outwardly therefrom, as conditions may require.

ing through the most contracted portion of the work space below the casting 17.

The rotor is made ,up of a series of spacer rings 29 interposed between annular metal disks 30, and all mounted on the shaft 28 and held a ainst rotation by a key 31 between nuts 52 screwed on the-ends of the shaft and each disposed between an end disk and the adjacent 'end wall of the treatment chamber. The rotor shaft works in bearings 33, 34 and is connected to a suitable drive at one end and at the other end acts to drive a suction fan 35 which takes in air through a pipe 86 leading from a hopper 37 that tapers downwardly from the bottom opening of the casing section 16.

4 The fan discharges through a pipe 38 to any suitable fiber treatment apparatus, not shown.

The working elements of the rotor comprise a plurality of thin flat metal blades 39, each preferably in the form of an oblong parallelogram having pivot holes 40 at each end. These blades, are mounted on longitudinal shafts 41 inserted through the several disks 30 and the blades are interspersed between the disks and uniformly distributed lengthwise along each shaft. I show twelveblade carrying shafts mounted in the rotor and two of the blades are shown mounted in spaced relationship between each pair of disks 30, but a different number of blades may beused.

I hinge on a cross rod 4-2 a hull bran baffle 43 which hangs from near the top 14 of the bran outlet downwardly towards and over hangs the bran discharge chute 45 which leads downwardly from the upper end of the casting portion 20. This bafile is adjustable by pins 46 fast on a rock shaft 47 controlled by a lever 48 disposed adjacent to a. side wall 18 and adapted to be set in any desired operating position.

In order to control the inlet of air and the escape of foreign matter that falls be tween the elements 10 and 13 in the feed chute, I provide a hinged bafile 49 interposed between the plate 10 and the feed chute casing 50 and I control this by means of a lever 51 which can be set for any desired operating adjustment. The bafile curves inwardly and swings fairly close to the chute 11 down which the heavier foreign matter, entering with the cotton seed hulls, slides and escapes, being prevented by the lip 13 from reaching the treatment chamber. This battle tends to control the amount of air that can enter the machine with the feed of hulls at this point and its adjustment; has etl'ect onthe action of the entering air currents on the escape of bran and fiber through the hull bran screen.

Both screens will have holes therein closely associated and preferably staggered and I have bbtained satisfactory results from holes having a diameter of .035 in the fiber screen, and in the hull bran screen I have obtained like results from holes having a diameter of .1. The rotor and fan will operate successfully when driven at 1800 R. P. M. and the diameter of the circle struck by the tips of'the blades is approximately 25".

The fiber screen is shown but slightly spaced from the tips of the blades, one quarter to five-eighths of an inch being satisfactory. More space is provided opposite the cover and hull bran screen in Figs. 1 and 2, but in Fig. 3 I show the casing 15 drawn into position. concentric with the rotor and having substantially the same radial distance therefrom as the fiber screen. In this form but slight surplus space is permitted between the blades and walls of the treatment. chamber except for the slight enlargement opposite the hull bran screen, which is adjustable in the manner described in connection with Fig. 1. The hull whirl after passing under the casting 17 has an opportunity to expand, which facilitates the discharge centrifngally of the delinted hull skins. The cutter blades I have found most efficient are of thin steel plate sheared or cut square across to leave at each corner sharp square side, top and transverse corner edges which act to out or strip the fiber from the hull skins. As the corner wears away and its transverse corner edge and its longitudinal side edges become dull, the efliciency of the cutter blades falls until it is economically expedient to restore such working corners by reversal or replacement of the blades. Because of their cutting or stripping action these thin blades are sometimes called knives, but the more edges they present to act on the hulls-the greater ill the output. My invention therefore is not so much concerned withthe size or shape of the blades as in the designing of them to provide a rotor with a multiplicity of cutting edges preferably shaped to present sharp angles for engagement with the hulls under treatment.

In the operation of my invention, the bulls are fed under control down the chute 7 and approach chute 11 until they are caught and lifted by the entering air current over the lip 13 to the feed inlet opening 14. Any foreign matter in the bulls too heavy to be litted by the inflowing air over lip 13 will pass olt down chute 11. The bulls are engaged by the last traveling blades and driven in a whirl while subject to a vigorous air dratt in the treatment. chamber, which whirl is thin radially and has a lag as a result of which the fast spinning blades are driven through the hulls inthe whirl with a cutting or stripping and agitating action which both strips the fiber from the hull skins and facilitates the flow of the induced air current through the whirl, thereby enabling it to entrain the fiber as freed and carry it out through the fiber screen openings. The induced air current flowsv into the treatment chamber through the feed inlet 14- and also through the hull outlet, and by the means shown the volume of air admitted at either point can be controlled and, by the adjustment of the hull bran baflie 43, the approach of the air currents to the hull screen 21 can be controlled. I consider itessential that the entering air shall act counter to the outgoing hull. bran-particles so as to prevent any appreciable amountofloose fiber or any partially delintedhull particles tending to pass out with the delinted hull skins and.

themselves may be relied upon to retain in' the treatment chamber all but the cleaned hull skins. The more closely the chamber walls approach the rotor blades the more rapid will be the motion of the whirl of bulls and the less the difi'erential between its motion and that of the cutter blades. As a result the less will be the cutting action and the lower the output of the machine. By enlarging the treatment. chamber, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, not only is the whirl slowed up so that there is a greater relative movement of blades to material under treatment. and a greater output of fiber. results, but there is more efi'ective Stratification due to the tendency 'ot the mass in the whirl to open out and close again as it enters and leaves the expanded portion or portions of the treatment chamber. This facilitates the travel outwardly of the heavy hull bran particles until they reach the periphery of the Whirl when they are ejected eentritugally through the hull outlet. The hull bran screen 531 can. be adjustedfrom time to time to the position in which it is most effective. The fiber entrained in the air current is discharged to any treatment apparatus of the fiber it such be desired, the fiber screen acting to prevent thehu'lls and larger shin particles passing therethrough with the draft. It is desirable that hull skins be reduced as little as possible to avoid the development of particles suflieiently line to pass out with and thus conlaminate the fiber output. The defibration by a cutting as distinguished from heating or abrading actions is highly cfiicient for the reason last mentioned and as securing a maximum output relative to the expenditure oi power.

Machines organized as herein illustrated and described have proved to be highly efficient. The invention, however, is-ot' broader scope than the specific disclosures, and various changes in detail'and in the arrangement ofrparts ol' the mechanism may be made wit iout departing from it.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Let ters Patent, is

1. In a'delibrating apparatus, a treatment chamherhaving one portion of its walls defined by a fiber outlet screen, another portion of its walls comprising a hull bran outlet, a rotor carrying cutter blades, said chamher having a hull inlet spaced substantially from the hull bran outlet and disposed radially a greater distance. from the rotor than the fiber screen, and means to force an outflow of air through the fiber screen fronrthe treatment chamber.

- 2. In a defibrating apparatus, a treatment chamber having one portion of its walls dcfined by a fiber outlet screen, another portion of its Walls comprising a hull bran out.- let, ahigh speed rotor carrying thin cutter blades, said chamber having a hull inlet spaced substantially from the hull bran oulletand disposed radially a greater distance from the rotor than such out let and connected therewith by a gradually converging wall, and means to cause an outflow of air through the fiber screen from the treatnicnt chamber.

3. A delibrating apparatus comprising a treatment chamber, a rotor having cutter blades spinning in said chamber, a fine screen concave for the escape of fiber, a coarse screen concave for the escape of bull bran, means to'adjust the latter screen towardsarul from the rotor, means to teed the cotton seed hulls into the treatmentchamber. and means todirect an air current through the chamber and outwardly thrpughthe fiber screen.

4. In a defibrating apparatus,a treatinent chamber having a casing provided with a .hull inlet on one side, a hull bran outlet outwardly through the fiber screen, and a rotor in said treatment chamber carrying cutter blades adapted to be driven through an annulus of hulls kept in motion by the blades to form a whirlaboutthe treatment chamber.

5. A machine of the character described, comprisin in its organization, a treatment chamber having separate outlets, one for fine light material and the other for coarser heavier material, a feed inlet for the material tobe treated, a multiplicity of edged cutters arranged in said chamber, means to drive the material into a whirl about said chamber and subject it to the action of said cutters to eflect its separation into its coarse and fine component parts, means to induce a draft flowing 'inwardlyvof the chamber with the feed of cottonseed bulls and outwardly with the light material, and an adjustable screen across the outlet for heavier material.

6. A machine of .the character described in claim 5, in which the treatment chamber is enlarged to permit the whirl to expand after passing the outlet for the light material, and such enlargement gradually diminheavy1 ishing towards the outlet for heavier materia 7 A defibrating apparatus according to claim 5, in which a regulable inlet is provided for controlling the inflow of air through the feed inlet.

8. In a defibrating apparatus for cotton seed hulls and the like, a treatment chamber having separate outlets for heavy and light material and rotatable cutter blades therein which drive the bulls in a whirl over said outlets, a feed chute having a reverse bend with an outlet therein for the escape of heavy foreign matter trapped in the bend, and means to force a draft't'o enter said foreign matter outlet and to escape with the fiber through the light material outlet.

9. In a defibrating apparatus for cotton seed hulls, a treatment chamber having rotatable means therein to remove the fiber fromthe hull bran, a coarse screening out- ,let for the hull bran, a fine screening outlet for the fiber, a feed chute having a trap for foreign matter with a discharge opening t erefor, and a suction fan actingon the treatmentchamber through the fine screening outlet to draw air currents into the charm her on the one hand through the coarse screenin outlet to restrain the esca e of fiber andon t e'other hand-through said foreign 10. A defibrating apparatus for cotton seed hulls, comprising a treatment chamber havin fine and coarse screening eoneaves and means to force an air current to intersect the whirl and escape through the fine screening concave with the fiber entrained therein, and means to regulate the inflow of air through the coarse screening concave to permit only hull bran to escape therethrough from said chamber.

11. A defibrating apparatus according to claim 10. in which the inner face of the treatment chamber walls is substantially smooth.

'12. A defibrating apparatus according to claim 10, in which the air regulating means comprises a movable hull bran baflle, and means to adjust it.

13. In a-"defibrating apparatus, a treatment chamber having-a bran outlet and a screen fiber outlet, there being a feed opening for said chamber spaced substantially from the bran outlet, a rotor having cutting blades mounted in the chamber, and meansfor passing air currents through the chamber and outwardly through the fiber outlet.

14. In an apparatus for defibratin'g cotton seed hulls, a casing enclosing a treatment chamber and having an inlet opening and an opening for the discharge of hull bran, such openings being spaced apart, and a relatively smooth casing wall portion separating the two named openings.

15. A machine of the character described, comprising in its organization, a treatment chamber having separate out-lets, one for fine light material and the other -for coarser heavier material, a feed inlet for the material to be treated, a multiplicity of edged cutters arranged in said chamber, means to drive the material into a whirl about said chamber and subject it to the action of said cutters to effect its separation into its coarse and fine component parts, means to induce a draft flowing inwardly of the chamber with the feed of cottonseed hulls and outwardly with the light material, and a screen crossing the outlet for heavier material and being ad'ustable at one end radially as to the chain er.

16. A machine of the character described, comprising in its organization, a treatment chamber having separate outlets, one for fine light material and the other for coarser heavier material, a feedinlet for the material to be treated a multiplicity of edged cutters arranged in said chamber, means to drive the material into a whirl about said chamber and, subject it to the action of said cutters to effect its separation into its course and fine com onent parts, means to induce" a draft flowing inwardly of the chamber .with the feed of cotton seed hulls-and-outwardly with the light material, and a concave screen crossing the outlet for heavier material and being adjustable to shift its margin facing the direction of approach of the whirl.

17. A defibrating apparatus for cotton seed hulls, comprising a treatment chamber having two outlets for the treated material and a feed inlet, a rotor in the chamber carrying cutters adapted to drive the material under treatment in a whirl, a screen across one of the outlets, means to force an air current to intersect the whirl and escape through the screened outlet, and means utilizing air pressure to permit only hull bran to escape through the other outlet, the inner face of the treatment chamber walls being substantially smooth.

18. A defibrating apparatus for cotton seed hulls, comprising a treatment chamber having two outlets for the treated material and a feed inlet, a rotor in the chamber carrying cutters adapted to drive the material under treatment in a whirl, a screen across one of the outlets, means to force an air current to intersect the whirl and escape through the screened outlet, and means to regulate the inflow of air to permit only hull bran to escape through the other outlet.

19. A defibrating apparatus according to claim 18, in which the air regulating means comprise an adjustable battle for the hull outlet.

-20. In a defibrating apparatus for cotton seed hulls and the like, a series of swiftly movin cutter blades, a treatment chamber in. which the blades move and which has openings adapted to form a fiber outlet, a hull feed inlet and a hull bran outlet, and means to cause fiber liberated from the entering hulls to. travel to the fiber outlet in a direction opposite to the movement of the cutter blades.

21. In a defibrating apparatus'for cotton seed hulls and. the like, a series of swiftly movin cutter blades, a treatment chamber in which the cutter blades move and which has a fiber outlet, a hull feed inlet and a hull bran outlet, and means to induce a current of air to enter the treatment chamber through the hull feed inlet and to travel counter to the movement of the cutter blades to the nearest portion of the fiber outlet.

22. An apparatus of the character described, comprising a rotor carrying cutter blades adapted to strip fiber from cotton seed hulls, a treatment chamber surrounding the rotor and comprising a screened fiber outlet, a hull bran outlet and a hull feed inlet interposed between said outlets, and means to I induce air to enter the feed inlet and flow counter to the travel of the blades to the adjacent portion of the fiber outlet.

23. An apparatus of the character described, comprising a rotor carrying cutter blades adapted to strip fiber from cotton seed hulls, a treatment chamber surrounding the rotor and having in its peripheral wall a screened fiber outlet, a hull bran outlet and a hull feed inlet interposed between said outlets and juxtaposed to the fiber outlet, and means to induce air to enter the treatment chamber through the feed inlet bearing with it hulls and to flow counter to the travel of the blades approaching the feed inletv to bear With it liberated fiber to the nearest portion of the fiber outlet.

24:. In defibrating apparatus of the character described, a treatment chamber defined by a casing having an inlet for material to be treated and separated outlets for the heavier and lighter component parts of the treated material, a rotor having cutter blades and mounted in the treatment chamber, means for creating a current of air from the material inlet to the outlet for the lighter component part of the material, and means 'to rotate the rotor in a direction whereby the cutter blades approaching the material inlet move in a direction counter to the direction of the air current.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

THOMAS J. KIDD. 

